


(don't) believe in happy endings

by almostannette



Series: Crimes of Grindelwald - Oneshots [6]
Category: Fantastic Beasts - The Crimes of Grindelwald, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Character Motivations, Developing Friendships, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Post-Movie 2: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Queenie and Credence have a talk, character exploration, set at Nurmengard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 19:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16708915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almostannette/pseuds/almostannette
Summary: "You’re allowed to have more than one friend in the world, Credence."After a few weeks at Nurmengard, both Credence and Queenie are not so sure whether they made the right decision when they joined Grindelwald.





	(don't) believe in happy endings

**Author's Note:**

> I was not that surprised when Credence joined Grindelwald, but boy was I shocked when Queenie joined him - so, of course, I needed to write a fic exploring their lives at Nurmengard and how they feel about the decision they made.

**Nurmengard, 1927**

According to the calendar, spring had already begun, but the inhabitants of Nurmengard didn’t notice it. Even in late April, Grindelwald’s castle, was surrounded by snow-covered mountain tops, the likes of which Credence had never seen before in his life. No matter how many warming charms one cast, or how often the house elves stoked the fire in the fireplaces, the cold never seemed to leave the castle. Rumor had it that was due to an army of dementors which Grindelwald kept in the cellar - at least that’s what Mr. Abernathy had said one night after he’d had too much firewhisky.

As far as Credence was concerned, the rumors could be true. Most days, he could not make sense of all the infighting and cattiness amongst Grindelwald’s followers. He was important to Grindelwald, that he knew, but only because of the Obscurus. Sometimes, when Grindelwald was sweet-talking Credence into doing something for him, Credence’s cheek started to tingle, as though his body wanted to remind him of the fact that he’d already been let down by a powerful man in the past. There was no reason why it couldn’t happen again.

“How are you?” a soft female voice asked behind him.

Credence flinched and nearly dropped his wand. He was supposed to practice transfiguration and charms at Miss Rosier’s behest, who had been appointed as Credence’s tutor. Today, he’d only completed a few of his tasks before his thoughts had started to wander to the people he’d left behind. Was Nagini alright or…?

“I’m fine,” he replied hastily, pretending to be deeply absorbed in the chapter on vanishing charms in his copy of Intermediate Transfiguration.

“I wouldn’t even need to read your mind to know that you’re not telling the truth,” Queenie Goldstein said. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know,” he said, not used to being given a choice. “Why would I have to tell you? If you can read my mind, you know everything already anyway.”

“Then at least share a cup of coffee or tea with me,” Queenie offered, pointing to the tray holding a richly decorated pot and cups, which was floating in the air behind her. “Whichever you prefer.”

“Coffee, please,” Credence said and started putting his books and notes aside before he remembered to use magic. With a flick of his wand and a muttered spell, his books and notes rearranged themselves into a neat little pile. Even though Credence had been aware of his powers for almost half a year now, magic still seemed wondrous to him, like a dream from which he could wake up at any second.

Queenie conjured up a chair for herself, sat down opposite Credence, and pointed her wand at the tray. Two cups and saucers rose up into the air and gently floated down until both Queenie and Credence had a cup of steaming black coffee sitting in front of them.

“Milk? Sugar?” Queenie asked.

“No, thank you,” Credence shook his head. “I’m fine.” He took a sip of his coffee, enjoying the way the hot beverage warmed him from the inside, letting him forget about the chill at Nurmengard for a few moments.

“May I ask you a question?” Credence said when he’d put his cup down again. “Why are you working as a coffee girl? Miss Rosier told me that you’re a Legilimens. You can read the minds of anyone except the most powerful witches and wizards.”

Queenie didn’t answer right away but took a sip of her coffee to hide her smile. “Did she say that? Vinda has been working hard on her Occlumency, ever since I joined Grindelwald, but she hasn’t yet managed to block me out,” she said. “You didn’t hear that from me,” she added when she saw Credence’s surprised expression.

“Who  _ is  _ able to block you out, then?” Credence asked. “Grindelwald, I suppose. Anyone else?”

Queenie sighed, nervously stirring her cup of coffee. “President Picquery, for example. I worked for MACUSA ever since I graduated from Ilvermorny, and I never managed to read even a single thought of hers, not even if I really tried. A couple foreign diplomats could block me out, too. Oh, and Mr. Graves, of course. I could never read his mind, either.”

Credence’s heart skipped a beat. For once, the gooseflesh covering his arms had nothing to do with the chilly atmosphere.

“Mr. Graves?” he asked. “But I thought…” He tried to speak, but his throat felt blocked. After all this time, why was it still so difficult to talk about Mr. Graves?

Queenie gave him a sympathetic smile. “I can sense that you have questions, but I can’t answer them. I don’t think he ever really noticed me. I was just a low-level employee, you know… he might have known that I was Tina’s sister, but he never said anything to me. Tina would know… I mean, you’d have to ask Mr. Abernathy, he worked with him more often than I did.”

Credence couldn’t hide his displeasure at Queenie’s response - he didn’t particularly like Mr. Abernathy and would have preferred talking to Queenie’s sister directly. “Why is your sister not here with you?”

“Why is your friend not here with you?” Queenie countered. For the first time since Credence met her, he could tell that her smile was forced and insincere.

He tried very hard not to think about the betrayal and shock on Nagini’s face when he’d stepped through the flames to join Grindelwald. Eventually, she would understand. Grindelwald was Credence’s only chance of finding out who he was, his only chance of getting a magical education. For the wizarding governments around the world, he was nothing but a threat which needed to be eliminated. At least for Grindelwald, he had some value.

“Grindelwald could tempt me with information about my ancestry,” Credence said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. “He didn’t know about Nagini’s abilities back in Paris. Otherwise, I’m sure he would have made a similar offer to her.”

Queenie reached over and put one of her dainty hands over his, squeezing lightly. “You miss her,” she whispered, eyes looking suspiciously wet. “I understand. I… I left my fiancé and my sister behind at the rally.” The tears spilled over, running down her cheeks and smearing her make-up. “At the time, I was convinced I’d made the right decision, but now I’m not so sure.”

Credence swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Don’t let Grindelwald hear you say that.”

Queenie shook her head, drained her cup of coffee and flicked her wand to refill the cup. “It’s not that, it’s just… I miss Tina, I miss Jacob and I miss Newt.”

“I would have liked to meet them in person,” Credence said. “I haven’t met Jacob, but Newt and Tina were both kind to me, even though they had no reason to be. When Tina attacked my… I mean, when she attacked Mary Lou, at first I thought I was dreaming.”

Queenie nodded, ineffectively trying to wipe away her tears with a handkerchief. “That was so characteristic of her. Standing up for others, you know? She’s always been like that, protective, courageous, and strong. Ever since our parents died, we’ve only had each other and now I haven’t heard of her in such a long time, that I… I’m worried.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Credence whispered. Somehow, he had never really considered the possibility of someone growing up surrounded by magic, being able to use it, and still lose your loved ones. Wasn’t magic supposed to prevent suffering? “What happened to your parents?” he asked before he could stop himself. Right after the words had tumbled out of his mouth, Credence felt the blood rush into his cheeks. He almost wanted to slap himself for his own tactlessness.

“Please don’t feel ashamed,” Queenie said. “There was an outbreak of Dragon Pox in New York City some fifteen years ago. It’s like the magical version of Chicken Pox, but much more dangerous. Only wizards can get it. There are no reliable treatments yet. Teenie and I survived but our parents… they weren’t as lucky...”

“I shouldn’t have asked,” Credence mumbled. For lack of anything better to do, he drained his cup of coffee.

“You couldn’t have known,” Queenie said, trying to sound cheerful against all odds. “And well, to answer your other question: Magic helps us solve many problems, but it creates many new ones, too. Tina saw you were suffering and she wanted to help you, but in jinxing your mother, she risked her job and even her freedom. Mr. Graves vouched for her in a disciplinary hearing. Otherwise, she would have lost more than her job as an Auror.”

Credence’s eyes widened. “She lost her job for helping me?” His hands were shaking and the Obscurus shifted under his skin. “I didn’t know that.”

“It was because of Rappaport’s Law,” Queenie said. “Has Grindelwald told you about it?”

It rang a bell, but Credence couldn’t place it. His lessons had focused on practical magic so far. After a long day of lessons and practicing the charms and curses he’d learned, Credence was usually too exhausted read much of the additional literature Miss Rosier had provided given him. He’d barely gotten three chapters into ‘A History of Magic’ so far, and he failed to understand how reading about the innumerable Goblin wars and rebellions which had taken place centuries ago was going to help him become a better wizard. Still, he tried to read at least a few pages each day, mostly because the book had allegedly been written by Grindelwald’s aunt.

Queenie smiled. “If you want to, I can get you a book about American wizarding history. That might be more interesting for you,” she said. “Just so you know, Rappaport’s Law was introduced due to an ancestor of Mary Lou Barebone. That connection was one of the reasons why MACUSA was watching the Second Salemers in the first place.”

Credence blinked in surprise. “But Mary Lou didn’t know anything about magic. She thought she could protect herself with prayers - that’s just ridiculous!”

“I know,” Queenie said, inclining her head in agreement. “But MACUSA is paranoid. No American witch or wizard is allowed to reveal their true nature to a No-Maj. You’re not even allowed to befriend a No-Maj, much less marry them. No matter how accepting someone might be, MACUSA is afraid that every No-Maj is just one step away from starting the Salem witch trials all over again. Not even the No-Maj president is aware of the existence of MACUSA. At least in Britain, the Ministry of Magic communicates with the No-Maj Prime Minister if affairs in the wizarding world are having an impact on the No-Maj world.”

“Is that why you’ve joined Grindelwald?” Credence asked, hesitantly reaching out to lay a hand on Queenie’s forearm.

Queenie shrugged. “He promised me that I would be able to marry my fiancé if he were in power. He’s… you’ve heard him speak. The media wants us to believe that he’s a terrorist, a maniac… yes, his methods might be questionable sometimes, but the end justifies the means, especially if it’s for the greater good.”

Credence couldn’t shake the thought that Queenie didn’t look as zealous as some of Mr. Grindelwald’s other followers. Her explanations of Grindelwald’s theory weren’t as practiced and smooth as Miss Rosier’s and she didn’t have that exuberant, slightly disconcerting grin on her face that Mr. Abernathy sported when he spoke about Grindelwald’s achievements.

“Your fiancé didn’t join you,” Credence said. “But you hoped he would.”

Queenie nodded, wiping tears from her eyes again. “I thought he’d see reason… I don’t… I’m prepared to do everything for him if it means that we can be together in the end, but apparently, he doesn’t love me as much as I thought he did.”

“My friend also thought that joining Grindelwald was the wrong decision,” Credence whispered. “I wish she would have come with me,” he added in a spout of childishness. “Then at least I would have a friend in this place.”

Queenie’s expression turned oddly sympathetic. Credence knew she must have read his mind, heard him thinking that Nagini was the first true friend he’d ever had, and he’d thrown it all away for a wand and a magical education. Growing up, having a friend, having someone who liked him not for what he could do for them, but just for who he was, hadn’t that been his greatest dream? Hadn’t he thought that it was impossible to achieve for poor, scrawny Credence Barebone?

Now magic was dancing under his skin, he was allowed to use it and was praised for it, not punished. Why, then, did he feel lonelier than ever before?

“I can’t replace Nagini,” Queenie said. “I know how much she means to you. But you’re allowed to have more than one friend in the world, Credence. We need to stick together, don’t we? What do you say? Friends?”

She extended her hand to him, and Credence took it.

Even though their smiles were both marred by the tears in their eyes and the sadness in their hearts, for the first time at Nurmengard, Credence dared to feel tentatively hopeful. His decision to join Mr. Grindewald had brought him something good after all - a friend like Queenie Goldstein.

**Author's Note:**

> The title was inspired by the excellent Magnetic Fields song ["My Only Friend"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otslu_0esKs)
> 
> If you liked this fic, I would be overjoyed if you left me a comment and/or kudos!
> 
> You can also find me [@almost-annette](https://almost-annette.tumblr.com/)


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